Hopefully the videos can help distract MC fans from the still MIA Xstar. I'm indifferent to the Mastercraft line, but I laugh hearing Zane describe the reverse sheer line as unique; its a style element Sea Ray has been using since 2007...

That tower hasn't gotten any better with age. A sled that big and beefy needs a more substantial tower. That thing looks like a coat hanger attached to that boat.

And why does it only have "near 1,000 lbs. of ballast?" Why can't they figure out a way to put more in that big boat? I just don't get it. They design a brand new boat from a clean sheet of paper... and they forget to design in more ballast??

Two references to skiing behind it... hard to believe they'd even breath the word "ski" on the sneak peak of a 23 foot, 4,350 lb. boat. Why don't they show us a video of that...?

Love the bow... not just the length, but the depth at the very tip. Also glad to see they have gone back to a normal sun pad (not all chopped up like the x25). The sloped edge on the swim platform looks cool.

gotta say...of all the new stuff I've seen lately from MC (most of which I haven't liked), this boat seems to hit the spot much better. I like the fact that you can get a non-video screen dash (maybe that's the same for all the others as well, i just never realized it), and the dash and interior just seemed more classy less "bling-y", which is what i would prefer myself. Plus the surf wave looks really nice.

I'm sure I still couldn't justify the cost to the wife...but still I like what I see on this one.

gotta say...of all the new stuff I've seen lately from MC (most of which I haven't liked), this boat seems to hit the spot much better. I like the fact that you can get a non-video screen dash (maybe that's the same for all the others as well, i just never realized it), and the dash and interior just seemed more classy less "bling-y", which is what i would prefer myself. Plus the surf wave looks really nice.

I'm sure I still couldn't justify the cost to the wife...but still I like what I see on this one.

Yes you always have the option to go with what Mastercraft calls the "Classic Dash" no B.I.G. Screen, just old school guages and toggle switches for the ballast. This is what I went with on my boat. I believe this is actually the standard and you have to order the Pro package to get the screen. I have seen people come in to a dealership see that screen and decide they have to have it, they probably are not planning on keeping their boats for 10 years either though.

Between the personal experience I had with MC, The Cash Rewards program and all the smack talk and brand bashing Zane has done in the other You Tube videos I am not a fan of MC. Its easy to see where they got that revlotionary hull design though . I guess everything old is new again

I surprisingly like this boat... Aside from the tower. It's reminiscent of the z3 to me transom steps nose, freeboard gel design etc. I dig the gelcoat, best I've seen from them since the 07 star. But i still think they've been headed in the wrong direction as a whole and prices will be astronomical, but this boat seems more practical

Plus one for Zane. He does a great job, its seems so natural and effortless for him. Shows he believes in the product. I like the x-30 a lot too! My x-star has about 1 more year in it. looking at AXIS, Malibu and MC for 2013.

The surfing portion says "Stock Ballast +400lbs". Like DBC said, why should someone spend over 100k for a boat made for surfing and wakeboarding and have to add extra ballast to surf? I would bet most people are going to be using this boat to surf. If all the cheap brands can have enough built in ballast, why in the world can't a Mastercraft?

I just personally feel that fat sacks should be left in the 2000's. New boats should be able to have enough ballast for all levels of riders for wakeboarding and surfing. Especially ones this expensive. It's what they are made for isn't it?

The surfing portion says "Stock Ballast +400lbs". Like DBC said, why should someone spend over 100k for a boat made for surfing and wakeboarding and have to add extra ballast to surf? I would bet most people are going to be using this boat to surf. If all the cheap brands can have enough built in ballast, why in the world can't a Mastercraft?

I just personally feel that fat sacks should be left in the 2000's. New boats should be able to have enough ballast for all levels of riders for wakeboarding and surfing. Especially ones this expensive. It's what they are made for isn't it?

With all that said, it looks like a really sweet boat.

I agree with this as well...but I was thinking of it as stock + 400 lbs = stock wake with 3 or 4 people in the boat. Hopefully it wasn't stock + 400 +people...but who knows.

Also agree with everyone on Zane. Met him at the boat show in Pleasanton a few years back. Couldn't have been a better more down to Earth guy in person as well.

One thing to consider is positive flotation. USCG says boats under 20ft are required to have positive flotation so the space under the floor is typically foam filled. Boat over 20 are not required to have positive flotation according to USCG but NMMA requires it and it is safer to have a boat that will float if swamped. Some brands out there are not NMMA members and in as much may not build 20+ft boats with possible flotation under the floor allowing for large ballast tanks. I'd bet this boat meets the positive flotation requirements and simply doesn't have the space available for more or larger under floor ballast tanks. My Supra 242 has one hard tank and 3 sacks since the rest of the under floor area is engine, gas or flotation.

I agree it is a good looking boat. I too prefer traditional bow styling over pickle forks.

The surfing portion says "Stock Ballast +400lbs". Like DBC said, why should someone spend over 100k for a boat made for surfing and wakeboarding and have to add extra ballast to surf? I would bet most people are going to be using this boat to surf. If all the cheap brands can have enough built in ballast, why in the world can't a Mastercraft?

I just personally feel that fat sacks should be left in the 2000's. New boats should be able to have enough ballast for all levels of riders for wakeboarding and surfing. Especially ones this expensive. It's what they are made for isn't it?

With all that said, it looks like a really sweet boat.

Agreed, the X25 for example only has 800 lbs. The X boats should all have twice that.

Yes, it is nuts that "flagship" boats can't be purchased with dialed in ballast systems!

For example, I really liked the latest CC 210 wake but I hated the idea of buying a boat for $80K that would require me to rip out the stock ballast and add a custom system. This plus the notchy "third reich" interior sent me looking at others.

The new x30 is going to be much cheaper than you all expect, was told to see it in the 70's, not 100k price tags.

It would be fantastic if that's true, but that may be a base-bottom-basement-low-low price you were told about. I would hold off before getting hopes up. A few years ago, while speculating on the price, I was told by MC direct that the CSX 220 was going to be a high 60's boat. Nearly every one I saw was in the 90's range - and the lowest I saw was 80. I saw plenty above a hundred.

A 24 foot MasterCraft in the price area you mentioned would be nice to see. It would also represent a sea change from them. Also... I doubt it.

Nice looking boat. A tighter turning X30 would be nice. Theres one in my family and its roomy but handles like a ship. That surf wave looks nice also. With all the people wake surfing and the mfgs making boat specific to that MC needs to address it.

Zane is MasterCraft's shining star - as well as wakeboarding's as far as I'm concerned. It's hard not to like something he's endorsing, or seeming to endorse. MasterCraft is so lucky to have him and I hope they know it. Only Shawn Murray rivals Zane when it comes to championing a company they ride for so well. It is nice to see that Trevor and Andrew are stepping up too though. I said in in another thread but I'm convinced that MC has some of these guys taking formal media training because they come off so frigging well on camera, during interviews, etc.

The boat... back on that - I like the boat after a few more views. It looks like a clod of old ideas and new, like too many cooks in the kitchen "let's do it the old way", "no no let's do it the new way", "no no no let's do it the way we've never tested"... and all 3 win out.

But I do like it.

Big biiiiiiiiig BIG fan of the no-screen dash and I hope to God it continues and that those in-screen dash systems die off. These things (which are ubiquitous right now, found in the big 5 manufacturers and others' top boats) are outdated the day they're installed and are pure headache/nightmare for the road ahead as far as I 'm concerned. You can't install a dashboard computer, and a custom operating system, and not expect it to age quickly. Problem is, these things look terrible to me right now, in 2012. What will they look like in 2015? 2020? These are not stupid questions. Painstaking process to update them... dependence on a software developer that may be gone in a few years... ugh. I hate those in-dash systems so much, as a switches and knobs and breakers kind of person. When you're out on the lake and those stupid dash things fail... ugh. Want to smash them.
Straight analog for me.

Has anyone here used the new MasterCraft touch screen much? I know how fun it is to use my i phone when my hands are wet. Just wondering if there were any issues with using the touch screen in the elements.

I like it, and I'm glad to see MC doing something about better handling/turning. Do we know if it has tracking fins? The jury is still out and I will wait until I drive this or the rumored 21 traditional bow they are working on.

On a side note, I believe Malibu came up with this design in 2009. Dodge followed in 2011.

I don't really like it at all. The curved deck looks dumb, the rear sun deck is way too uneven, the tower is still terrible. The best parts about it are the wide open wrap around seating in the caockpit and the large spacious bow.

So they menion it was a flatter hull. Does that mean it has an inferiour rough water ride to the old X30? Does anybody really care about the ski wake of a 23' vdrive? Doesn't make sense to me. I don't mind the lack of a large stock ballast so much as 95% of the people that buy this boat probably won't care about having extra ballast unless it is for surfing and it isn't hard or expensive to piggyback bags in the rear compartments.

I know the boat has a different hull than the x25, x35, x45 ect., but did they really need to make another X series boat and a 23 footer at that. I know each boat is a little different but how can you try and sell a boat a little different in length than 2 others. I guess like previously said this will be their surf boat, but I still think they make way too many X series boats marketed as wakeboard boats.

Wow. I'm extremely disappointed. We have a 2003 X-30 and I still love the smooth lines of the boat and was hoping for something similiar. With the lines of the boat, the tower Im still not fond of and the weird paint job, this is up there in my opinion with the axis for ugliest boat on the water. Again, that's just my opinion (not that it matters much). At this point, I think the next boat with be a malibu or Tige.

I gotta say I wasn't a fan much till I saw it in person. Much nicer then expected. Much. And the price was a LOT lower then expected. Mid 70's with most options and that is in Canada! I had been leaning towards an MB F24 but I think my mind has been changed..... IF it has a good wakeboard wake. Infact I had planned to order one but now I am leaning toward the MC for many reasons.

Quote
"Zane posted a big write up on MC's facebook page stating that the wakeboard wake is an enlarged X-1 wake."
LMFAO What else would expect Zane to say.
Boat looks ok. The tower is still the worst thing I have ever seen. I aslo much orefer the old X-30 looks.

If its really an enlarged X1 then it will be one of the greatest wakes of all time right??? Oh yeah I own that hull. Would not be bad to get the same wake just bigger.

Quote:

Originally Posted by kko13

Quote
"Zane posted a big write up on MC's facebook page stating that the wakeboard wake is an enlarged X-1 wake."
LMFAO What else would expect Zane to say.
Boat looks ok. The tower is still the worst thing I have ever seen. I aslo much orefer the old X-30 looks.

I want to know how exactly they are selling an X30 for mid 70's. Maybe it is just a cheap dealer but in Seattle I think they sell the X2 for 75-85k. Hell in 07 when I worked for Copes we were selling really loaded Xstars for 90k. I wouldn't be surprised if Xstars last year in seattle were 100k. I guess my question is, is 75k pretty common from what people are seeing all over the country or just from a few dealers that sell boats cheap and/or have low overhead, is Mastercraft telling the dealers to sell X30's at slimmer margins or did they actually skimp on something somewhere to lower the price. The boat looks to have all the latest and greatest from Mastercraft. I just don't get it. I guess is there are just some dealers around the country that sell the same boat for a lot less then others. I believe the Seattle dealer gets pretty high margins but I think they are trying to compete with and take business away from Cobalt which is a really, really popular boat in Seattle.

Brett, I don't know jack and I don't know how they are doing it, but I think MC is trying to undercut the competition with the X-30. They are selling them to the dealers cheaper and dealers can sell them in the 70's and still make a decent profit.

I don't get it either to be honest. They are cheaper then the X25. My dealer actually knows Zane and he is getting me all of the info he can about the wake specifically before I make a move. Im pretty excited about this boat!

I don't get it either to be honest. They are cheaper then the X25. My dealer actually knows Zane and he is getting me all of the info he can about the wake specifically before I make a move. Im pretty excited about this boat!

Levi, while Zane is a great ambassador of the sport and a great asset to Mastercraft his job is to help sell Mastercrafts. Do you actually think he would tell you the wake is less then ideal on the boat? It may very well be an awesome wake but I think I would want personal accounts of the wake from myself or from nonbiased person.

Another thing I don't understand about the boat is that they claim in the video that they designed the boat for surfing but flattened out the hull. THat makes 100% zero sense. It is pretty common knowledge that the deeper V's all the way to the transom produce better surf waves, at least without adding a billion pounds of ballast.

I agree that they are going to be trying to "sell" me the boat. I asked my salesman if there was anyway we could get pictures/other riders reviews. He knows that we are buying this boat primarily for wakeboarding NOT surfing and that if it's not a great wakeboard boat we will look at other models. Im not going to rush into anything and am going to try to wait for a little more info. I can't imagine MC would make a new 23 ft boat with a bad wakebaord wake would they?

At the Cincy boat show MC was selling a stripped-down X15 (base tower, bungee racks, teak swim platform, analog gauges, base stereo with no sub or tower speakers) for ~$76k. I would be very surprised if they are selling their newly redesigned X30 for the same price. Especially since the well-optioned X25 they had there was $106k.

At the Cincy boat show MC was selling a stripped-down X15 (base tower, bungee racks, teak swim platform, analog gauges, base stereo with no sub or tower speakers) for ~$76k. I would be very surprised if they are selling their newly redesigned X30 for the same price. Especially since the well-optioned X25 they had there was $106k.

That is what seems really weird. If they are actually selling this X30 in most places for 75k pretty well loaded up then they are basically saying every other boat in their line is completely overpriced. Either that or they skimped in places you can't readily see on the X30.

Well, it would appear that some of the prices on here getting quoted either mean that people are inflating the sales price of a Mastercraft or People are getting screwed.

I bought a new X2 and besides the BIG screen it was loaded, did not pay in the 70's not even close. I have seen pretty well optioned X-25's leaving my local dealer for 80-90.

Still expensive but far different from the pricing I have seen on this site.

Can't speak for everybody else but I'm not inflating anything. The numbers I posted are straight from the dealer at the Cinci boat show, and are pretty close to the same numbers they told me last year as well. Here are the pictures of the actual X15 and X25 I was quoted prices on. Not sure what they were asking for their X2 this year, didn't ask. Last year their X2 was in the very high 60's, close to 70. Sounds like you got a good deal compared to what most dealers are asking.

I have been doing my research on wakeboard boats recently. After going to the Denver boat show, I was surprised to see that the MasterCrafts were really no more expensive than the others (specifically Malibu & Tige) However, there is certainly a significant difference in quality from what I can tell. Upholstery, fit and finish, engines (love the Ilmor), lots of billet everywhere on the MC’s vs. chrome plated plastic on the others. Someone even mentioned that the Malibu windshields are plastic instead of glass? How is that going to look in 5 years?

Even comparing boat lengths is confusing. I looked at the X-15 and it is more spacious than most of the 23’s that I have seen.

I have not made my decision on a boat yet, but I also want to see the new MC X-30. The Denver dealer, S&W Performance, says that they have one on order and will call me when it arrives.

I have been doing my research on wakeboard boats recently. After going to the Denver boat show, I was surprised to see that the MasterCrafts were really no more expensive than the others (specifically Malibu & Tige) However, there is certainly a significant difference in quality from what I can tell. Upholstery, fit and finish, engines (love the Ilmor), lots of billet everywhere on the MCís vs. chrome plated plastic on the others. Someone even mentioned that the Malibu windshields are plastic instead of glass? How is that going to look in 5 years?

Even comparing boat lengths is confusing. I looked at the X-15 and it is more spacious than most of the 23ís that I have seen.

I have not made my decision on a boat yet, but I also want to see the new MC X-30. The Denver dealer, S&W Performance, says that they have one on order and will call me when it arrives.

Certainly everybody has different tastes on what styles they like, but I think the molded plastic and all of the "billet" on the MC dash looks extremely cheap and tacky.

The Malibu dash has a clean layout and feels like itís straight out of a hand crafted German sports sedan (still don't like the single-spoke steering wheel though).

And Malibu certainly doesn't have a plastic windshield, I think the MC salesmen are feeding you a line. After spending a couple years comparing the big 3, I think that the upholstery and overall fit/finish of all of them are excellent and you couldnít go wrong with any of them. I do like how MC uses hinges and gas shocks on more of their seat bases and wish Malibu would do that more. I also like how MC integrated the cooler better than Malibu. I do like all of the rear facing seat options that Nautique has, but I don't like the very low seat height. Overall it just comes down to personal preference and what you feel is worth the price. Around here the MC boats are significantly more expensive than Malibu when looking at similar length and options, and I just donít see where they are worth that kind of premium.

it really must have a lot to do with the market area. we have very little mc's in my area and there are always really good pricing on the mc's. now, bu has a great following and seem to hold there pricing and that has made for really good resale in my area. I have had 1 bu and now my second centurion. If i was in the market for a mc, i would really call around the states and see what dealers have and the deals they are making in that market. good luck

I have been doing my research on wakeboard boats recently. After going to the Denver boat show, I was surprised to see that the MasterCrafts were really no more expensive than the others (specifically Malibu & Tige) However, there is certainly a significant difference in quality from what I can tell. Upholstery, fit and finish, engines (love the Ilmor), lots of billet everywhere on the MC’s vs. chrome plated plastic on the others. Someone even mentioned that the Malibu windshields are plastic instead of glass? How is that going to look in 5 years?

Even comparing boat lengths is confusing. I looked at the X-15 and it is more spacious than most of the 23’s that I have seen.

I have not made my decision on a boat yet, but I also want to see the new MC X-30. The Denver dealer, S&W Performance, says that they have one on order and will call me when it arrives.

I'd say I myself despite having been a CC guy am leaning more and more towards MC for these same reasons.

Am waiting for the new X Star though...am hoping to be able to get into one this year for demo. My MB neighbor wants my 210

bu windshields are glass. I have a new A22 that uses the same exact front 3 windshields as the vtx, vlx, lsv's and mxz. My maiden trip last summer I took a rock to one of my windshields while towing home....and it shattered.

that all white SAN up there looks so sick. I love that boat and wake... hate the price.